The Brangus Bump – Brangus Hybrid Vigor

When they needed to add pounds at shipping, Will and Monnie Carol Carter of Hope Hull, Alabama found that Brangus hybrid vigor added 100lb to the weaning weights of their commercial herd.

“We needed more growth,” Will says. “We worked hard to get them to 720 pounds by the time they were shipped.” This was after weaning the calves and giving them a 45- to 60-day preconditioning period.

The Carters decided to add another breed to their program— Brangus. Made up of five-eighths Angus and three-eighths Brahman, the Brangus has had its own breed association since 1949. The results were impressive.

“We added 100 pounds to our weaning weights the  first year,” Will says. “That was just from using Brangus sires. Now those calves are 825 pounds at shipping. We didn’t change anything else. Heterosis is responsible for that increase in weaning weights.”

Crossbreeding With a Purpose, The Progressive Farmer, February 2015

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